"A team that is highly committed to winning"

PREVIEW

Commitment, mindset, and respect for the opponent as a shortcut to the 3 points. These were the key ideas left by Bruno Lage in the preview of this unprecedented match on Friday, June 20, between Benfica and Auckland City, on matchday 2 of Group C of the Club World Cup.

What are your expectations for the game, which will be played at noon, an unusual time?

We will face several challenges in tomorrow's match [Friday], but the first one has to be the right mindset to win the game and secure the three points. Then, of course, we know how important the result will be, but above all, we must respect our opponents and be aware that we need to put on a good performance, because that is the only way to achieve a more meaningful result. This team has had the ability to do so. It has already done so in the Championship, in the Champions League, in the Portuguese Cup, winning by more than three [goals]. But this is based on respect for the opponent, being very aware of the game we have to play and playing well. Another challenge is clearly the time of the game and the temperature at the time of the game. And that has been the challenge. In addition to carefully analyzing our players, because many of them are already in a long season, we also have to be concerned about this. We have players from different countries, who have had different adaptations, and we feel that some players have had more difficulty than others in adapting to the temperatures and certain schedules. Just to give you an example, two days ago—because after every World Cup game, we hold a training match the next day to give everyone some playing time, and one of our main goals was to bring in many young players from the youth academy to see how they are progressing and to what extent they can integrate into the team in the near future—we had players who were struggling to adapt and had a lot of difficulty playing when it came to game time. 

What I wanted to ask is: given that this is an intense tournament, with three games very close together, are you considering making changes to the team? There is also the question of Florentino, who I don't know if he will be available for the game...

He is not available for the game, and, as has been our custom, we will choose the eleven players we think are best suited to the strategy we intend to use. So, I will take advantage of your question to say that tomorrow [Friday] Prestianni will start the game.

After the last game, you mentioned some positions where the team needed strengthening, particularly right-back. Is Amar Dedic a player you know and are interested in?

We mentioned a right-back and a name immediately came up [smiles]. What I can tell you is that we know him very well, and he is a good player.

If you want to mention another position you need, feel free to do so...

Of course. We need a right-winger [laughs].

After the draw – and assuming that Benfica let victory slip away, which they could have won, as they would have been the deserved winners – against Boca Juniors and Bayern's thrashing of Auckland [10-0], do you feel there is pressure on Benfica to thrash this team?

The pressure we put on ourselves is to always play well. And that's the starting point. You've been following the team throughout the season and have seen them win by more than 3-0, or by three goals, both in the National Championship and in the Champions League, as well as in the Portuguese Cup.

So that is our requirement. What I will demand from my players tomorrow [Friday] is that they play very competently for 90 minutes, understand where the opponent's spaces are, and also understand where the opponent can take advantage of when they have the ball to try to create danger. What I want is a team that is fully committed for 90 minutes, ensuring victory, showing great respect for the opponent, and, of course, achieving a good result for us.

Even because of the goal difference, did you have any particular concerns about preparing the team offensively, with any distinct nuances? On the other hand, without Belotti, who else do you have in the squad for that position?

I have [João] Rego.

What can he offer?

He plays up front and there's something I really like about him, which is his finishing, whether with his foot or his head. He's really good at heading the ball, which is why he could be a useful player for tomorrow's game. We tried, as we always do, to create the game scenario and try to imagine the opponent's positioning, and also look at ourselves and understand, based on the characteristics of our players, how to take advantage. That's why we believe that Prestianni could be a good player for the game. 

Besides the heat, which is a special adversary, what difficulties did you encounter in preparing for this game?

We tried to gather as much information as possible about our opponent. And what we saw, apart from the game against Bayern, was a team that has been playing normally with a line of five [defenders]. Looking a little at the Bayern game, I believe that in tomorrow's game [Friday], the opponent will want to present a different image. But we really see a closed team, focused, determined to close the goal and then try to exploit the transitions. A good striker who holds the ball well and tries to put the wingers in difficulty. If you look at the game, it's 10-0, which is a very impressive result. There were also two or three goals from rebounds inside the area, and there were one or two situations where the opponent tried to break out with some danger and create scoring opportunities. Above all, what we did, and I think we did well, because we felt that both yesterday [Wednesday] and today [Thursday], was to prepare the team well in terms of the opponent's positioning, in terms of our opponent's characteristics, and we felt the team was confident to play a good game.

You already told us that Benfica also needs a right-winger. I would like to ask you if you also know Moussa, from Feyenoord, who was mentioned today.

I know him very well too, he's a very good player.

After the draw with Boca Juniors, do you think that qualification in this group could be partly decided by who scores the most goals against Auckland?

If I thought that way, I wouldn't be the coach at Benfica. We have the game against Bayern Munich, and the mindset is to try to win that game too.